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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. row — a line
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. game — wild animals
  8. lie — to recline
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bulb — for light
  11. game — a match
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wax — to grow
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. row — to paddle
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bulb — for light
  24. game — a kind of play

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com